


Silverwind

by sp00kworm



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Character Death, Character Study, Execution, Gore, Horror, M/M, Mate bonds, Past, sacrafices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 17:54:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp00kworm/pseuds/sp00kworm
Summary: The Air Ghoul wishes for nothing more that to be released from his prison so he can move into the after life with his mate.





	Silverwind

Eyes glittered so brilliantly in the light. The Air Ghoul hissed between his teeth as he finally tore the optic nerve free. The nerve was such a hard thing to detach from the body. The iris was pale blue in his grasp, the pupil relaxed and rounded. He slipped it passed his lips and crunched, the fluid dripping over his lips. He spat it out into his hand. Shifting through the mess he pulled the lens from the eye and tucked it aside, watching it float in the salt water he had on his bench. The other was easier to pop open and he picked the lens free before tossing the eye onto the tarp he had. Her throat had stopped bleeding. The carcass was hung from the butcher’s hook he had managed to find, her legs tied to it. Her neck and face were red with her own blood now, the large bucket he’d placed beneath her finally full. The other buckets were off to the side. He placed a jar to the wound and sliced his claw deeper, gathering the last drops from her cold body. Air needed it all. All of it would bring back what he wanted.

His hands shook with exhaustion. He held the blade before taking a deep breath. It shook for a moment before steadying. It was easy to spill her guts open. He pulled the liver free before pushing the mass of mucus and membranes onto the blue plastic tarp. The real prize was her heart. The knife sliced away her chest with a few precise movements. Placing it away on his work bench he reached for her ribs. They cracked with a great noise as he clawed and tugged the bone in his large hands. His black claws tore one free. He threw it at the wall as he heaved the chest cavity open. Dark eyes glittered as he saw his prize. The heart was still, but he just needed it out, to make room for the replacement. His fingers twitched before he squeezed the heart, blood slicking between his fingers from the dead muscle.

The organ in his hand twitched under the pressure before sitting still. Air took it carefully away before placing it on his work bench, blood covered hand reaching for an old carved box. Flicking the latches open, Air pushed back the lid to reveal two blackened pieces of flesh. One was small, the other a larger black, smooth, muscle. They stank of decay, but he picked the larger one up tenderly, clutching it close before slicing the body down. Carefully, Air placed the rotten muscle inside the chest cavity, attaching it to the vessels with a fine needle and thread, closing the busted ribs before moving to take the suturing needle and wire thread. He needed to close the cavity, the organs were unnecessary. She would grow new ones quickly. It would be agony, but it would ensure her Ghoulish form. The Ghoul ran his fingers through her hair, gently tucking the brown waves out of the way, fingers tilting her head back. He threaded the needle with his teeth and quickly began stitching, huffing as he forced the peeled skin back together tightly. It needed to be tight enough to meet so she could heal.

The stitches were tight and clean. Air pulled away to place his needles away before gently moving her body up onto the flat stone table. She was a bloodied image of her. Human but so close to what he needed. Air took his claws, chipping the runes back into the stone, ensuring they were clean and bright for the ritual. The blood came next. Hissing the words of Ghoulish, he poured the blood into the carved wells of the stone, watching it slowly fill the deep runes. The bucket of blood filled them nicely. Air took the jar and dipped his claws inside, drawing lines and shapes over the corpse, whispering the chant under his breath, delighting when the blood in the table began to churn and bubble. The streaks of blood rippled before soaking through the stitched wounds in little blobs. Air stood back and watched the blood boil, flowing through the carved paths towards the body before rearing upwards and moving towards the wounds. Some small trails entered her eyes. Delighted dark eyes watched the corpse twitch, a thrum of life moving through the woman. The charred heart filled with blood and gave its first, heaving beat.

The flow of blood was slow, and the Ghoul shook before collapsing into a chair, blood slick hands wiping the fluid down his chest. Air rubbed his scalp, matted hair tugging and pulling painfully before he gave up and leaned back, rubbing his eyes with more streaks of blood, eyes fluttering as the tiredness settled in his core. His eyes fluttered over the image of the slow working magic, the corpse still cold and motionless. The heart had paused, and he felt the magic thrum again, the muscle beating with the draining pulse. Air’s dark eyes closed as his head rolled, falling asleep with his arms crossed over his chest, feet bare and tattered trousers the only thing protecting him from the cold elements of the cave entrance.

The large ghoul awoke with a start, feeling something shift in the room. Air pushed away from the decrepit arm chair, rubbing dried blood into his eyes as he tried to wake up. The body twisted when he stood up, a stiff head twisting to look at him, eyeless gaze empty, mouth open with a soundless movement of air. The corpse shuddered and lolled over the stone again as Air got to his feet. His claws held the soft dead flesh. It was slowly heating, nearly as warm as his own hands. Air linked his fingers in wonder as the animated thing pressed her fingers to her chest, fingernails curled into the flesh of her breast. Savagely, she beat at the skin before peeling it away, wheezing rattling from her chest.

“No. Stop that. It will not burn soon, dear.” Air’s hands pulled hers away from her own skin, carefully placing them by her side, strapping them under thick leather straps. She wheezed again before shaking violently. Air gasped softly when he saw the blood spurt from her nose.  
“Not another…not another one.” He repeated, claws watching as the body shook, blood leaking from her ears before cursing as her arms burst and bled. The corpse shook, and the Ghoul cursed before shifting his hand, claws sharp in the air. He plunged his claws through the healed stitches and tore open the body, fingers reaching under the ribs to grasp the pulsating charred heart. It thumped and resisted his pull. With a grunt, the arteries tore free and he was jolted backwards, hand red and covered in leaking blood. He left the corpse to melt on the table, carefully stashing away the heart back in its box, sealing the clasps tight. Blood poured over the stone as the binding spell snapped and broke, the seals breaking open. The blood pooled under the body before the corpse stopped twitching, mouth open, eyeless gaze on Air as her body rotted on his table top.

“Useless. Another failure.” Bloodied fingers traced the top of the casket, the wood full of spirals and swirling raised leaf designs. Air sighed, muttering to himself as he turned to look at the shrivelled girl’s body still strapped to the cold stone table. The old ghoul paused when he felt the presence of another. Two ghoulettes were stood at the entrance of the cave, looking at the dank image of horror before them, insides splayed over the floor, the girls mangled corpse laid out. Air growled at the two of them, skin rippling to black hide, hair raising around his hair, flowing on an breeze that wasn’t there. The two younger ghouls flinched away from the scene as his eyes burned white, watching sharp long teeth snap, slick with saliva, face twisted in agony.  
“Air. Please. Come home, stop this madness.” The shorter ghoulette, Cumulus spoke, her voice soft in the face of their former mentor. The two had already shifted to black hide, scared that he would throw one of the concoctions from his bench. Her sister placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing as they gazed at the maddened ghoul in front of them both.  
“She’s right, Air. You can’t bring them back…they are gone.” Cirrus spoke, taking a dangerous step forwards, one foot inside the cave.  
The elder ghoul whirled around, hair flowing upwards, thick braids and long strands coiling together like a fluid, “You know nothing!” He howled, claws growing, plated spike erupting from his back as his tail elongated and maw began to form. Hands shifted to paw like appendages, long pointed ears flicking as the coating of blood over his skin disappeared into the bestial form. The tribal tattoos glowed over the creature’s shoulders and arms, thick scars over the forearms from years of silver cuffs. “They will come back to me.” The creature growled over the air, sat back on two legs before it’s pointed, hooked tail writhed into the air, ears flattened. Air moved onto all fours defensively.

“Please Air, you don’t have to do this. We just want you to come home!” Cirrus shouted at the creature. It couldn’t hear her, white eyes rolling in its skull, needle teeth bared as Air hurled himself at the two of them. They danced away with blasts of their own element. The large, cougar like ghoul hurtled past them, long body whipping around in the air to try and catch their tails in between its teeth. Air missed and growled as he tore the dirt, sliding to a stop as two, smaller, sleek shifted air ghouls faced him. Cirrus and Cumulus looked to one another as the elder ghoul prowled along the dirt, claws leaving trails in the soil as he stalked towards the cave.  
“I will never go back. I have work to do. I can bring them back…leave the church and its trappings…” Air shook his great head before hissing, tail high to strike should they move towards him.

The two ghoulettes stayed back, bodies hunched low to the ground, tails whipping back and forth as Air prowled closer. Nostrils flared before a long tongue lolled out between his jaws, tasting the air, feeling the ripple of worry through the little air ghouls. Cirrus launched her sleek body forwards first, leaping through the air at the elder ghoul. Air snorted before jumping to meet her, snatching her out of the air with his great weight, pinning her easily beneath him as talons sliced dangerously close to the exposed, soft skin of her belly. Cumulus howled at her sister’s agony, thundering forwards, horns low, battering Air in the side, pushing him away from Cirrus long enough for her to get up. The two of them moved in from the sides, claws flashing, forcing Air back. Cumulus whined when he flashed forward, claws dragging over her maw, leaving deep wounds before he flipped her with a twist and tilt of his long horns. Cirrus jumped again and was launched backwards by a great blast of wind, clattering against a tree.

“Pathetic.” Air grumbled deep, white, burning eyes blinking as he glanced between the downed ghouls, “Weakened by emotions and barely large enough to be considered Air Ghouls.” The large ghoul hissed, “These are my successors…Disgusting.” The two ghoulettes eyed him, slender horns tilted down defensively. “You both are not worth the effort.” The old ghoul turned to lumber back into his cave, scalely hide rippling over lean muscle as he prowled back to the entrance. The humming sensation of the Aether made Air twist just in time for two large ghouls to leap on him from the rocks. A small fire ghoul and a large earth ghoul pinned him to the floor. Air thrashed and howled, tail slashing the earth ghoul’s leg open as he was pinned to the dirt. The fire ghoul whined as his grip slipped, sharp scales slicing Air’s shoulder as the elder ghoul got free, sliding and writhing in the dirt.

“Dewdrop, for fucks sake!” The quintessence ghoul was stood above them, hands held out in concentration as he channelled something around all of them. Air’s white eyes locked on him before he was scrambling up the rock face, “Oh fuck me.” Aether cursed as he pushed his sleeves up and pushed his human form hard, sliding past a tree stump as he heard the great large ghoul curl over the cliff face and gallop behind him, “FUCK ME!!” Holding his palm out he opened a portal, watching the world ripple before it was torn open. Aether cringed and jumped, seeing Dewdrop and Mountain on the other side. He barely as time to shift before Air leaped after him, claws catching against his hide as the quintessence ghoul shifted, landing with Air on top of him. Mountain, bear like form sat on two legs, reached forwards and pried the air ghoul back, arms pinning him, claws ripping deep as he tightened his grip, muscles bulging as he held Air in place, teeth locked in his shoulder. Dewdrop was quick to skitter across the stone, long tail thrashing as he reached the panting quintessence ghoul.

“I’m fine.” Aether grumbled as he shifted the Aether, large rolling eyes opening in his palms, burning purple as they turned to look at Air.  
“Keep your disgusting mind tricks away from me Quintessence Ghoul!” Air screamed, trying and failing to break the grip of the great stone tribe ghoul holding him in place.  
“Hold still!” Mountain growled, jaws snapping at the back of Air’s neck, “You are too dangerous.” He spoke calmly as Aether sat and pressed the cool eyes to either side of Air’s maw.  
“I am sorry, Air.” Aether whispered as his element shifted and snapped, blasting the barriers of Air’s memories open, filling his head with the agony of what he was trying so desperately to bring back. Air screamed, a high pitched roar, as he was bombarded with a sensory overload, brain overloading and sparking out. His form drooped in Mountain’s grip before slowly shifting and shrinking, revealing the human glamour once more, covered in blood and bruises.

“The elders want him Cirrus, Cumulus…Don’t try and go against them…please?”  
“I will speak for him still Aether!”  
“Cumulus you…They will bloody kill you as well!”  
“She is right. He is our mentor.”  
“Cirrus...both of you! It doesn’t matter what he was to them. They want him gone. Everything he’s done, the magic and the murder, he must pay for it in their eyes. I don’t want this, but we have tried everything else to stop this happening. He will die at sundown. I’ve talked to who I can girls. There’s nothing left for him.”

 Nihil stood in front of him, a vision of red and gold, old eyes barely able to make out the face of his friend. Air tilted his head up in defiance, the silver around his wrists and arms burning deep ragged wounds into his Ghoulish hide. The Grand Papa sighed gently, fingers gripping his cane before he addressed the ancient creature knelt before him, exposed and bloodied.  
“Air Ghoul. You are to be sentenced to death as the sun sets for charges of the use of attempted necromancy and the breaking of your demonic contract.” The old man coughed into his fist, sad eyes looking back to Air, “Do you have anything to say?”  
The elder ghoul grinned with sharp teeth as his head was forced down onto the chopping block, the silver laced guillotine blade swinging ominously over him. Air’s teeth clicked before he spoke, “Just kill me. Death is less pain than living without them.” Obediently, he laid his head over the block, knelt, arms burning with the silver bindings.

The old Papa shook his head, whispering a sad dark prayer as he moved away, Sister Imperator guiding him gently, her own face downcast. They had not seen the use of the silver guillotine for centuries. Imperator tutted softly as Nihil brought a shaking hand to his eyes, covering them so he didn’t have to watch the fate that was to befall his friend. Air smiled at the old fool. It would have come sooner or later. The Clergy had finally had enough of his games. The old ghoul closed his eyes as the few ghouls stood silent. He knew who was there. The Ghoulettes, that little fire ghoul and the dumb aether ghoul. Air had nothing to say. The blade swung on the rope, the knot grinding before he heard the brother undo the rope. The silver blade fell with a rush of air. Air’s eyes opened, dark brown looking up at his own neck, the bone exposed and blood spurting over his own cheeks. His eyes rolled before the brother grasped him by the long dark tresses on his head and thrown away from his own body.

The dead ghoul was kicked from the platform, body tumbling down the hill and into the ditch at the bottom. His body landed on top of his head. The old ghoul’s head rolled to the side, dead eyes turned to the setting sun. Aether shook his head, corralling the other Ghouls away from the horror as Air’s head was thrown, his body kicked in disgust from the stand. Cirrus and Cumulus held hands, the Sisters able to communicate telepathically. They had done it from birth, essentially mute, and the comfort it brought the two of them was still deeply rooted. The two ghoulettes whispered telepathically, black tears dripping over their masks. Dewdrop followed behind the three with a scowl, upset, arms crossed as he hissed at the maltreatment of the old ghoul’s dead body. He needed a proper burial. Air Ghouls decorated their dead in beads and beautiful gold. Air deserved that. He’d tell Aether to speak to Nihil about it. They returned to their suites to morn their losses alone.

Sunset. Something sliced through the air. A ripple of energy burst forth through the atmosphere. Earth cried out in agony as the ripple burst and lurched through his soul, horns clattering down the wall as he keeled over. The little ghoul wheezed as something severed. A bond was gone and agony tour through him, despair seeping into his being. His eyes opened as tears wet his cheeks, heart shattered, and emotions torn apart. Earth smashed his horns against the floor again, blue eyes wide as he breathed heavily, claws curling into his cassock. Suddenly, warmth seeped back, a slow gentle trickle of life. Earth gasped against the stone before crawling back up the wall, ears flicking before he broke into a run, following the faint feeling of Air on the wind. He was dead. He was alive. What was happening?

Black tendrils traced the wounds of the old ghoul’s neck. The lifeless head was flecked with blood spurts, stubble stark against his pale jaw and horns wedged in the dirt, black life-filled goo moving around and tapping the ground. It reached towards Air’s corpse, gently stroking and reaching for the sliced wound of his neck. They poked and slipped together, locking into the neck before dragging Air’s head closer to his dead body. The head ran over the grass, Air’s hair tangling and tying itself in knots before his head turned and was slotted back over the wound, black goo leaking and stitching the head back on. Air felt something churn and pull at his soul, stranded above himself in nothing but darkness, screaming for her and their son, howling and begging to be let go. He was snapped back into his body, brown eyes blinking and mouth opening as he gasped, blood and black vicious fluid leaking down his neck and over the tattoos curling over his pectoral muscles. The old ghoul writhed and cursed before pushing himself up and growling, stomach churning and demanding food. Air reached for his neck as he turned, pushing himself up the hill, his fingers came away stained with black goo.

It was dark. Air sniffed, head wobbling as he reached the edge of the sheer face, black hide and claws exposed. Air grumbled and peered up with white eyes as he scented humans. Two males were tending the sharp blade of the guillotine. Air growled and pulled himself up, head teetering and spewing black blood over the grass. The two humans turned slowly, eyes wide as they took in the image of the Ghoul stumbling over to the two of them. They cursed and gasped before realising that they had been frozen mid-air, paralyzed and unable to retreat away from the air ghoul. Revenge. Blood. Flesh. Spirit. Air growled and reached for the first one, claws holding him high, head tearing and lolling off to one side as he exerted himself. Flashing sharp teeth, Air growled and tore the throat open, holding his mouth open greedily underneath the pulsing wound. Blood stained his face red, dripping down over his neck and chest. The second was killed similarly before he tore their head free, claws pressed through the tendons and bones, popping their heads free of their shoulders. Air sat next to the warm bodies, tearing skin and muscle away, chewing and trilling as warmth thrummed through him.

Earth gasped when Air collapsed in the hall before him. The little ghoul sobbed and reached for him, claws pulling at Air’s skin, seeing him and feeling him. The ghoul was unconscious, head stitched on, covered in black tar and blood. Earth cried before tugging the old ghoul back towards his rooms. He couldn’t bear to be separated from the old ghoul, knowing now that what they had.

**Author's Note:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS HAVE ANGST


End file.
